Hasta La Gadget!

This is the Cybertech T-RON custom electric guitar. Hutchinson Guitar Concepts probably named it so to avoid any trademark issues, but we all know it’s referring to the hit 1982 sci-fi flick Tyrannosaurus Ron, a movie about the last dinosaur who knew how to play guitar. I hear it’s getting a remake.

Either that, or it’s inspired by TRON: Legacy. Probably TRON: Legacy. The design borrows from the sequel’s aesthetics, specifically the inlaid tubes of blue light. The guitar is actually a sequel of sorts as well. It’s a spin off of an earlier custom guitar, from which it also gets the Cybertech name.

Like its predecessor, the Cybertech T-RON has an XY MIDIpad MIDI controller, but this time Hutchinson also installed a Ghost pick-up system alongside the Gibson humbuckers. The two devices should make it easy to add effects or change the tune of the guitar’s sound. The guitar also has locking tuners and a custom made through-body string retainer.

Sadly you’d have to be a rock star or an ENCOM exec to be able to afford the guitar. Hutchinson Guitar Concepts is selling the Cybertech T-RON for £4,000 (~$6,250 USD).

[via Obvious Winner]

There’s something about old speaker housings, especially from the 60s and 70s. They are usually thick, big things that have a great look with design appeal. These speakers made from discarded old speakers that have been upgraded with new components.

Each Tombox speaker is unique, and the built-in battery will last up to two weeks before it needs a recharge. It’s maker, Diefabrik hand-selects some nicely designed old loudspeakers as suitable candidates for each upgrade. The sound varies from Tombox to Tombox, but each of the ones I’ve seen looks pretty awesome.

The compact Tombox looks like a cool way of sharing your tunes, while the bigger Tombox+ looks like a decent speaker to have at home. Diefabrik list their available Tomboxes and Tomboxes+ on their site, and you can send them an email to get yours. Prices typically range from €190 to €420 (~$233 to $515 USD).

[via NOTCOT]

Sony has announced a pair of new home theater virtual surround sound systems, including the HT-CT60 and HT-CT260. Both the systems are sound bars that have external subwoofers. Both devices support virtual surround sound and promise audio quality of the sort that lets you feel and hear explosions in movies. The CT60 is an entry-level device with the CT260 offering improved sound with S-Force Pro Front Surround technology.

The CT260 is designed to create virtual surround sound with 3-D audio effects. The CT60 has dual front speakers with 60W of power each while the CT260 has 300W of total speaker power. The CT260 also has a wireless rear subwoofer so you don’t have to worry about running wires across your room.

Another nice feature of the CT260 is integrated Bluetooth allowing you to stream music from a tablet or smartphone straight to the Sony speaker system. Connectivity options for the CT60 include a single coaxial audio input and a single optical audio input. It supports Dolby Digital and has integrated bass and treble controls as well as a night mode. The main speaker measures 940 x 83 x 70 mm while the subwoofer measures 170 x 245 x 300 mm.

The features of the CT260 include an amplifier with integrated A/V sync. Connectivity options include a coaxial audio input and an optical audio input. Audio formats supported include Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby ProLogic II, Dolby Dual Mono, and LPCM two channel. The main speaker measures 940 x 102 x 89 mm with the stand, and the subwoofer measures 271 x 390 x 271 mm. Pricing and availability information is unknown.

Sony unveils new home theater surround sound speaker bars is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Many people are big fans of Bluetooth speaker systems for connecting to their mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. There are a number of Bluetooth speakers and audio systems on the market that allow people to stream music from something like a smartphone to the portable speaker without wires. A company called Vers took to Kickstarter to raise the money to bring its new 1Q Bluetooth speaker to market.

The Kickstarter campaign has proven very successful for the company, which originally sought to raise $10,000. So far, the company has raised over $73,000 in pre-order sales and support. The company is roughly halfway through its campaign with 15 days left to go. The project will fund on Thursday, August 16.

The speaker is called the Vers 1Q, and it’s a small Bluetooth speaker placed inside a handcrafted wooden enclosure. The speaker measures three-inches and uses Bluetooth 2.1 technology. The device promises a wireless range of 30-feet and battery life is estimated at 10 hours. The speakers have the ability to connect to each other to turn a single mono speaker into a pair of stereo speakers when needed.

The 1Q will work with Bluetooth and has a 3.5 mm wired port for devices like Bluetooth connectivity. The 1Q has the ability to pair with and remember up to 10 different devices and has a total power output of 6.5 W. The little speaker inside the wooden case is a two-inch full-range unit and the 1Q measures 3 x 3 x 3-inches and weighs 8 ounces. A pledge of $95 will get you a single 1Q in bamboo or walnut colors. A limited-edition red beach unit is available for pledges of $125 or more.

Vers 1Q wooden Bluetooth speaker passes $70,000 in funding is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Amazon also has a stake in the world of smartphone music, and earlier this morning, we talked about Spotify for Android getting an update that carries a personalized radio, and before lunch, there was word on Samsung rolling out their very own Samsung Music Hub. Amazon is certainly not going to just sit down, lay back and let the world pass them by. No sir, Amazon decided to get their feet wet in news by announcing improvements made to their Cloud Player services as well as the Amazon MP3 application.

So far, we know that Amazon did come to an agreement with the rest of the major record labels out there, allowing Amazon Cloud Player to perform its very own iTunes Match-style scan of your entire music collection. To put it in a nutshell, your life is now a whole lot easier since you are freed from having to upload the entire gamut of your files. Not only that, audio quality should see an improvement, as even if your files are of a low quality, the moment Amazon matches them with its library, your ears will enjoy streamed copies at 256kbps. [Press Release]

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Amazon Cloud Player offers unlimited space in upgrade, Amazon Cloud Player sneaks to iOS,